The Underdog
by Megara1
Summary: Sara and Warrick discover Catherine and Grissom are together but, in trying to make them jealous, they slowly fall in love. Set after Season 5 with the team back together again. WS New CHAPTER : Lemonjelly ! FINISHED
1. Chapter 1 Megara1

**"The Underdog" **

Couples: Sara/Warrick and a little bit of Grissom/Catherine

Rating: It depends on your part. But now K 

Summary: Sara and Warrick discover Catherine and Grissom are together but, in trying to make them jealous, they slowly fall in love. Set after Season 5 with the team back together again.

_A little note : I wrote that with two great girls: Joyce3 and LemonJelly ( on ), and each girl made a part, so it was Megara, Joyce, Lemonjelly, Megara, Joyce, Lemonjelly...until the end. And as it was my ideaIwrote thefirst chapter._

_Another note : I'm not a GCR fan, but Joyce and Lemonjelly are, so that explains the plot of the story. I'm really bad with writting GCR, so excuse me if you don't like that first part..._

Ever since he'd suggested a dinner to Catherine, Warrick been looking for a good moment to invite her, but the year hadn't been easy and finished badly with Nick's kidnapping. After his two weeks of holiday, in spite of all the beautiful women he'd met, still Warrick couldn't stop thinking of Catherine. Which is why he stood there now – in front of her house. He passed his hand over his trousers and then checked his shirt, everything; funny that, after all these years, he still wanted to make a good impression on Catherine. He moved to knock on the front door but stopped, hearing Lindsay's voice.

"Mommy, Uncle Gil, be good in front of the film!"

Warrick heard a small laugh from Catherine and then Grissom's voice: "You're right, Lindsay. Excuse us." Warrick heard a noise and then a muffled sound from Grissom.

"Lindsay, please don't be on Gil's knees," Catherine's voice reached his ears where he stood outside. Warrick's breath caught in his throat. "You're getting too heavy for him now."

"But Mommy…"

"Cath, don't worry, it's ok," Grissom assured her. "She'll help me concentrate on the film."

It was too much. Warrick turned to leave.

"So, Mommy and you, are you in love, Uncle Gil?" asked Lindsay.

Warrick stopped brutally, his breathing was aching and he felt like suffocating in waiting Grissom's answer.

"Didn't you have good holiday with me Lindsay?" asked Grissom, avoiding a straight answer.

"Uncle Gil, you didn't answer my question!" exclaimed Lindsay.

"Yes, Gil, we're waiting," replied Catherine's wary voice.

"The answer is yes, Lindsay. I am slowly falling in love with my best friend," confessed with a lot of difficulty.

Warrick hurried to leave the front door of the house. "I don't believe it," he thought to himself, shaking his head as he climbed back into his car. "Grissom and Catherine, they're only friends, best friends, but there…"

He returned to his house and went to bed but sleep wouldn't find him; all he could think about was Catherine and Grissom kissing lovingly.

The following day marked the end of the holidays for all the workers at the Las Vegas Criminal Lab, and the first one to arrive back was Sara. No surprises there. Sara had made resolved decisions during holidays and was very determined as she headed towards Grissom's office. First resolution, she thought to herself, I play all my cards for Grissom; I let him know about my feelings and invite him to breakfast, just him and I. She knocked on his door – nothing. So she knocked again but still there was no sound from inside. Turning the handle, the door wouldn't budge and she found that it was locked.

"Grissom isn't in. But this is _the_ moment!" muttered Sara to herself.

"So Sara, always chasing the boss?" she heard. Sara slowly turned and discovered Nick and Warrick; thankfully it was only them. She would have been embarrassed if it was anyone else.

"Hey guys, so how were your holidays?" she changed the subject casually.

"Always avoiding a problematic answer with a question," Nick caught her out with a grin.

"Nick, let her breathe. She only got here two minutes ago," said Warrick, cutting her some slack. "Good, thanks for asking, Sara. I went to San Francisco. And you?"

"I found a bed and breakfast near the mountain, in a small and quiet place," Sara replied. "So I guess we can all say we had good vacations; and I really needed it."

"So you'll admit it!" Warrick smirked. "But never in front of Grissom."

"And you, Nicky, where were you?" asked Sara hurriedly, not wanting to be on that subject.

"At my parent's house, in Texas." Nick answered. But Sara wasn't listening to Nick anymore and a big smile lit up her face as Grissom came in. The two boys followed her eyes but neither Nick nor Sara remarked how much Warrick's face tensed, a cold look in his eyes. Catherine entered just after Grissom and waved to them.

"We'll see you all in the debriefing room in a few minutes," said Grissom to them all and Sara's smile erased only when Grissom disappeared. Warrick picked up on this and realized where this placed the two of them.

"I'm only thinking of me," he thought. "But when Sara will know about them? And how will she react? Perhaps they will break up soon before she notices. I hope..."

"So, did you all have good holidays?" asked Catherine brightly.

"Good," Nick answered her as Sara's eyes were still on the door Grissom had disappeared through and Warrick was lost in thought. "And you, where did you go?"

"To Baton-Rouge in Louisiana, with Lindsay." Catherine told him nonchalantly.

But Warrick, hurt and bitter, decided to test Catherine, knowing perfectly well that she left with Grissom. "Isn't that where Grissom's mother lives?" he asked innocently.

Sara and Nick turned in surprise to Catherine.

"Yes, that's true…but we didn't leave at the same moment. I didn't see him." lied Catherine.

"Yes, you see Grissom a lot anyway." Warrick pushed a little more. "Even if you are best friends…simple coincidence."

"Exactly," replied Catherine a little dryly. "Now, excuse me, but I need a good coffee."

"Like all of us," replied Nick with a smile. Sara looked to Warrick strangely and then at

Catherine and shook her head.

"No," she reflected, unable to shake off her suspicious thoughts. "Why Warrick would question Catherine like that just because of the holidays? It doesn't make sense."

She followed them to the debriefing room where Grissom entered a few minutes later with their cases.

"Hey Gris, where did you go during the holidays?" asked Sara taking a coffee and trying to act natural.

"To Baton-Rouge – to see my mother," came his answer.

Sara and Nick looked at Grissom and then to Catherine.

"Strange coincidence," Sara muttered.

"What coincidence?" asked Grissom, calmly.

"Catherine and you went to the same place."

Grissom looked at Catherine for a short moment and then fixed his coffee.

"Baton-Rouge is the capital of Louisiana, it's a big town…" he explained, then he rapidly changed the subject. "So, here are the different cases: Nick, a robbery uptown, one dead – the robber; Sara and Warrick, a car accident which is being treated suspiciously; Catherine, you're with me, a hold-up at the center of the town."

They all left in three groups.

_To continue..._

_Next part will from Joyce3 ( authors of many WS story as The Consequence of Flirting )_


	2. Chapter 2 Joyce

**"The Underdog" **

_Couples: Sara/Warrick and a little bit of Grissom/Catherine_

Rating: It depends on your part. But now K 

_Summary: Sara and Warrick discover Catherine and Grissom are together but, in trying to make them jealous, they slowly fall in love. Set after Season 5 with the team back together again._

Little note: Thanks to all the reviewers, for the Sara/Warrick fans ( **Jenuine**, **lemonjelly**, **Joyce3**, **Kelly** and **WSShippeR **) and to all the others...

**Chapter two**

_This Chapter was made by Joyce3 , the author of Better Memories , The Consequences of Flirting and short WS ficlets, the last one Crawling, Drinking and Promises . _

Sara and Warrick walked out of the CSI building, heading towards their car.

They were silent, both lost in their own little worlds. Warrick couldn't shake the bitterness he felt whenever he thought of Catherine and Grissom together. But he didn't quite understand why he felt this way. He didn't love Cath, he was certain of that. He was attracted to her, yes. He just...he had always thought that someday they would become more then friends. That maybe she was the one he could finally love. He had just lost a chance to love someone and a little voice inside his head told him that  
maybe he would never find real love. Turning to look at Sara he noticed that she had a distant look in her eyes, a look he knew as the Grissom look and he felt sorry for her. He may have been attracted to Catherine but Sara really loved Grissom. He just hoped that she would come out of this ok. He tried to get her attention.

"You know, I missed working with you, Sidle."

That got her attention, she turned to him. A genuine smile on her face.  
"Why, did you have trouble solving your cases without me?"

He smirked, having missed their playful banter.  
"No, It's just...I think there's a little teacher in me. I love explaining things to you."

She nudged him in the ribs before she got into the car. He laughed before he  
joined her and the trip to their crime scene was spend talking about their holidays. A pleasant atmosphere in the car. Working together again was easy.  
They had always been able to work together well, except for their bad start. They challenged each other, had different methods of working but they made the perfect team together and Warrick found that he really had missed working with her.

At the end of his shift he found her in the locker room, looking somewhat disappointed when she saw him coming in.  
"I'm sorry, am I not the hunk you expected?" he asked. A lopsided grin on his face.

She shook her head. "Nope, sorry. I'm sure you're somebody's hunk but I was waiting for Grissom."

Warrick flinched, he just came from Grissom's office and he knew that he had  
already left. With Catherine. He tried to hide his reaction from her, not wanting to hurt her. Not wanting to be the one to tell her.  
"That hurts, being passed over for my older boss. Thanks Sidle."

She grinned. "Don't take it personally. So, have you seen him?"

He told her a little white lie. "You just missed him, he left a half an hour ago. But hey, I'm free. Wanna grab some breakfast?"

He saw the disappointment in her eyes and then she nodded. "Thanks Warrick, breakfast would be nice."

They were sitting in their favorite spot in the diner, a place were all CSI's would often come to have breakfast and relax after a rough shift. Sara mused that she almost never came here alone with Warrick though. She liked him, he was a good man and a good friend. But usually he wasn't the kind of man who took you to breakfast. Warrick would take you to lunch during a shift, happily. But the man loved his free time and most of the times he was gone after shift ended. Happy to live in his own world before work occupied all of his thoughts again. Today there was something different about him though. He was looking at her strangely, like he wanted to protect her from something and she had no idea what.  
"Warrick," she asked. "Are you ok?"

He looked up from his food, surprised that she had picked up on his mood.  
Maybe she knew him better then he had thought.

"I'm fine," he said and he knew that he really was. Right now he was just worried about her. He would get over the thought of Grissom and Catherine together but he wasn't sure that she would.

"Are you?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, I think so. I've made some decisions and now I just have to find the courage to execute them."

He played with the food on his plate, not wanting to look at her. "Do your decisions have anything to do with Grissom?"

She smiled. "I don't wanna play this cat and mouse game anymore, Warrick. I'm tired of it. I've been chasing him for five years now. This time I'm going to corner him. See if he really wants me. If he does, great. But if he doesn't..."

She paused. "Well, then at least the chase is finally over."

He looked at her, a strange look in his eyes. A mixture between pain and concern.  
"I don't know what to tell you, Sara. Be careful, ok?"

He stood up, after making sure that he left enough money to cover both of their meals. She stopped him, grabbing his hand.  
"What do you mean, Warrick?"

He shook his head, indicating that he wasn't going to tell her and then he squeezed her hand in a friendly gesture that touched her.  
"If it doesn't work out...Would you just promise that you'll make an effort to find yourself again?"

She blinked. "Find myself?"

He smiled at her. It was a sad laugh but it was also strangely comforting.  
"Yes," he said. "You've been lost in him for far too long now."

Then he was gone, leaving her to ponder his words.

The next day

Sara walked into the break room, ready for a new day. Hoping to finally talk to Grissom. The words that Warrick had spoken to her still haunted her. She wasn't lost in Grissom she told herself. She was her own person who just happened to love someone. But a small part of her was starting to doubt that. Was this really love? Or was it the chase she was in love with? Wanting the unattainable. She was interrupted by Nick and Warrick coming in. The last one looking at her warmly, smiling at her. He sat down next to her.  
"I'm sorry for leaving you like that yesterday. Are you mad?"

She wasn't mad, she was just worried. His words had caused a feeling of dread inside her. She had a feeling that her whole world would fall apart pretty soon and she had no idea what to do about it.  
"I'm not mad," she whispered. "I do think you're a little weird though."

Nick grinned, having heard the last part of their conversation.  
"Join the club, Sara."

Before Warrick could defend himself Grissom and Catherine walked in. Both of them looking nervous once they spotted the three people in the room. Grissom cleared his throat, looking at Catherine for support.

"Guys, before we start working today..we...I mean...Catherine and I wanna tell you something. We've been hiding this for some time now since we wanted to give this a chance. See were it was going..."

He paused, not sure how to continue. Warrick just looked at Sara, knowing what she was about to hear. Wishing that he could somehow erase some of the pain she was about to feel. Meanwhile, Nick was clueless.  
"Griss, what are you talking about?"

Catherine took over.  
"Me and Grissom, we're an item. We have been for some time now. We didn't wanna tell you guys because we didn't know were it was headed but now...It's serious and we figured that you guys deserved to know."

Warrick watched Sara, saw all the colour leaving her face and then she was running out of the break room. Him right behind her, only pausing to look at Grissom who was watching her leave with a painful expression on his face.  
"I never meant to hurt her Warrick, I really didn't."

The younger man nodded. "I know," he said before he followed Sara. He found her in the locker room, staring blankly ahead. He approached her carefully and when he sat down in front of her he saw that there were tears in her eyes.

"You knew, didn't you? You tried to warn me yesterday but I wouldn't listen..."She blinked. "Why wouldn't I listen, Warrick?"

He reached up to hold her and felt her clinging to him, felt her crying.  
"Because love makes you ignore things sweetie. It's gonna be ok, I promise.  
We're going to be fine."

"We?" she said.

He nodded. "Yes, we. I'll be here for you. For as long as you need me."

She hugged him again. "Thank you Warrick. Thank you so much."

The next weeks were spent in a haze for Sara. She came to work, did her job, went trough the day. And then there was Warrick, always there was Warrick.  
He was there when she wanted to cry, when she wanted to scream, he made her laugh. He quickly became this drug she couldn't live without. She needed a doss of him to get trough the day. But still she couldn't get Grissom and Catherine out of her mind. Couldn't believe that she had lost the man who she believed to be her true and only love. And over the last week an idea had slowly formed in her mind. She just needed Warrick to be ok with it.

Warrick came home surprised to find Sara at his doorstep. She had been to his house often in the last couple of weeks but he never found her waiting on his doorstep.

"Sidle, what are you doing here?"

She stood up, a strange look of determination in her eyes.  
"I need your help."

He went inside his house, her following him.  
"What are you talking about?"

Sara sat down on his couch, hoping he would listen to her.  
"Listen to me, ok? Hear me out. I want to see if we can make them jealous. So I was thinking that maybe we could pretend to be a couple. See how they would react."

He blinked.  
"Sara, have you gone mad now? Let it go, sweetie. Why would you do that?"

She was almost crying.  
"I just wanna know if he ever cared about me, Warrick."

He was silent, just looking at her.  
"Please, Warrick. Help me."

He stood there. Not knowing what to do.

TO BE CONTINUE...


	3. Chapter 3 Lemonjelly

"The Underdog"

__

Couples: Sara/Warrick and a little bit of Grissom/Catherine

Rating: It depends on your part. But now K

_ _

Summary: Sara and Warrick discover Catherine and Grissom are together but, in trying to make them jealous, they slowly fall in love. Set after Season 5 with the team back together again.

****

**A/N:** Thanks to all of you who have reviewed so far! Enjoy! Love LJ xXx

- o -

**Chapter Three ( lemonjelly )**

- o -

Warrick surveyed her pleading eyes and sighed heavily. He knew, better than most, that being in love – and futile, hopeless love – would make a person do ridiculous things, dream up insane situations and hang on to fruitless beliefs. He knew that. And he knew how much it hurt to have reality slapped into your face, shattering all those fragile ideals. But he also knew when to let go; he'd learnt that gambling, or rather, giving up gambling. Sara, it seemed, had not.

"I don't know what to say, Sara," he murmured quietly.

"Say yes." she urged immediately, grasping his arm with both hands – begging, silently, begging. He winced at the desperation etched into her face and shook his head slowly.

"You know this is a bad idea. I can't let you do it," he told her, as gently as possible. He wished he'd looked away and hadn't seen the way that bitter heartbreak showed itself upon her face. She closed her eyes briefly, took a breath and tensed her jaw to stop her lower lip from trembling.

"You're right," she said hollowly. "You're right, of course, you're right." She sank down into the sofa beside him, releasing her grip on his arm and hugging her knees close to her body. "He never did, did he? He never cared."

"No – Sara – I didn't mean that," he insisted. "He did care – he does care, but just not like you do."

Sara gave a short, sharp laugh. "You don't know that." she muttered bitterly. And then another thought occurred to her and she turned to him.

"Does Catherine care about you?" Sara asked him. "Like you do? Does she care?"

"No." he replied defensively and then, letting himself think about it, added: "I don't...I don't know."

Sara nodded slowly, pulling her arms tighter around herself, and repeated his words in a whisper, "I don't know...I don't know." Then she seemed to take in what he'd said and looked up, earnestly. "Don't you want to know?"

"Sara..."

"Just to find out? Come on, 'Rick! I thought you were a criminalist!"

"What's that got to do with anything?" he said with a grin at her apparently random argument.

"That you'll stop at nothing for the truth," she reasoned and paused before adding, "Even if you don't like what you find."

Warrick looked at her. She was staring ahead of her at the faceless wall, resigned and remote.

"Okay, Sara." he relented, heavily. She'd made her case and won him over. "Okay – just to find out. But don't let this get out of hand. If they don't react how we'd want them too, or if they don't react at all, don't take it too hard."

"I won't," she nodded eagerly and smiled broadly at him. "I promise. And the same to you."

"Okay," he grinned at her enthusiasm and wrapped her up in a hug. "Okay."

Night-time cast distorted shadows into his living room and he considered her with the kind of affection you can only get from knowing someone for years. They were in the same boat together, he knew just how she felt and how she hurt.

"Listen, stay the night." he offered. "We might as well go in together tomorrow morning and start out properly."

"I like the way you think, Brown." she said, yawning. He smiled at her.

"See?" he murmured. "We'll be alright." And covered her over with a blanket, falling asleep on the sofa with her.

-

Catherine inspected the hangnail on her right hand and tried to even it out as she stretched out across the couch in Grissom's office.

"You know, I think it's all settled down now," she spoke up absently and Gil looked up from his desk, putting down his pen.

"You think?" he asked, knowing exactly what she was talking about.

Catherine shrugged. "I mean – I expected Sara to be pissed at us, or upset, even if we never wanted that – it was unavoidable, really. But she seems cool about it now." Catherine paused before continuing, "I never thought Warrick would be as mad as he was though."

"Didn't you?" Grissom raised his eyebrows.

"Should I have done?" asked Catherine. "I didn't realise he and Sara were that close; I didn't think that her being upset would affect him that badly."

Grissom tipped his head to one side, narrowing his eyes slightly. "I don't think that's all that upset him, Cath."

"Huh?"

"You never realised he cared a lot about you?" Grissom asked her, getting up from his desk to perch on the sofa beside her. "Even I knew, and you know how terrible I am at reading these sorts of things."

Catherine smiled briefly. "I didn't know... He was always Warrick, and that's it." Catherine said, slowly and carefully. "With you it was..."

"It was?" he prompted when she trailed off. Catherine grinned.

"It was different. It always will be different," she said. Gil smiled and, in drawing her close to him to kiss, neither of them noticed the pair outside who got down from the same car in the parking lot, idly wondering if anybody would pick up on it.

-

Warrick leant against the table in the break room and watched as Sara fixed herself some coffee.

"So how exactly are we going to do this?" he asked her quietly in the empty room. She shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know – improvise, I guess." she suggested and flashed a smile back at him. The smile quickly vanished, however, when she noticed Grissom wandering down the corridor from his office, intently reading some case notes as he walked.

"He's coming," she hissed and beckoned him over. Warrick obliged and stood in front of her, his back to the glass doors.

"Now what?" he prompted. Sara rolled her eyes exasperatedly at him and he impulsively slid his arms around her waist, holding her to him. Sara reciprocated and, hugging him tightly, carefully watched their supervisor over the top of Warrick's shoulder.

"He's still too busy reading his damn notes," she observed quietly.

"Did it ever occur to you just how ridiculous this is?" he muttered into her ear.

Sara arched an eyebrow at him. "Someone once told me that love made you ignore things so maybe you could just give that a shot," she replied sharply.

He laughed. "Okay, okay." He watched her watch Grissom over his shoulder and noticed the way her eyes narrowed slightly when she was concentrating, the way she bit down on her lip a little and the way her hair smelt.

"Perhaps if you got down on one knee right now he might just notice," she remarked dryly. Warrick stayed silent.

"Maybe we need something less subtle." she mused out loud.

"Fine." Warrick murmured. "If it's less subtle you want..." And he leant down and kissed her, long, deep and slow.

Taken completely by surprise, Sara found herself suddenly very lost standing there, eyes closed, off balance. Warrick drew back and grinned impishly at her.

"...Less subtle you're gonna get." he said softly. Sara didn't smile though. She only looked at him in shock and curiosity. The full extent of what she'd actually asked him to do by taking part in this whole insane charade with her hadn't actually hit home until that moment.

Warrick realised what was crossing her mind as she stood staring at him, dazed and confused, and he cringed slightly. "I'm sorry Sara." he apologised hurriedly. "Was that too far? Too fast? You said you wanted..."

"He's gone." she cut him off quietly.

"Huh?" Warrick frowned.

"He's gone." Sara repeated, nodding over his shoulder. Warrick turned around, not letting go of his arms around her waist. The corridor outside, where Grissom had previously been wandering, lost in his work as they'd been lost in each other, was now empty.

- o -

TO BE CONTINUE...


	4. Chapter 4 Megara1

**"The Underdog" **

_Couples: Sara/Warrick and a little bit of Grissom/Catherine_

Rating: It depends on your part. But now K 

_Summary: Sara and Warrick discover Catherine and Grissom are together but, in trying to make them jealous, they slowly fall in love. Set after Season 5 with the team back together again._

Little note : Thanks for all your reviews ! As I replied to some of you at the very beginig, I update each Saturday or Sunday...so wait until next week to have Joyce's part. And don't forget to check our WS stories !

**Part 4 ( Megara )**

Warrick moved apart from Sara and was confused to discover that he missed her.

"It's Grissom. There could have been a fire he would continue walking, reading his paper," Sara sighed. "What do we have to do if we want a reaction!"

"Find ourselves another place than the lab, a place which isn't attached to work," suggested Warrick.

Sara smiled and nodded. "Good idea, but he only leaves his office when he's giving us cases or if he's working with us."

"We'll find the moment soon, Sara," he assured her, touching her shoulder lightly.

"I hope so." Sara shook her head. "It makes me angry to imagine him with Catherine, don't you think?"

"Yes," answered Warrick. "But not now," he thought, surprised. None of them imagined just how fast a rumor propagated in the lab but Greg, walking through the corridors of the crime lab, would soon be the next to hear it.

"They arrived this morning together," said a young lab-tech.

"It's weird…the only couple I couldn't ever imagine together," replied another one.

Greg stopped. Being what he liked to call 'inquisitive' but everyone else called 'nosy', he really loved gossip and loved to spread it; this could be interesting.

"But I think she only uses him as a substitute," the lab tech went one. "She couldn't have the boss so she took the next good guy."

"Boss?" thought Greg. "That's either Ecklie or Grissom. Please, say names." A young lab-tech girl opened the door of the lab, very excited and very breathless.

"You'll never guess what I just saw," she exclaimed, hustling Hodges out of the way.

"Please, a little more calm here!" shouted an angry Hodges. "We are not in Gossip Heaven." But she ignored him because her news seemed to be just too interesting.

"Sara and Warrick kissing!" she burst out eagerly. "And not just a little kiss, but a really slow kiss!"

"What!" exclaimed Greg, entering. "Sara and Warrick? But they're just friends!"

"We don't kiss like what I saw and we're only friends, Greg," answered the young lab-tech girl.

"You sincerely believed Sidle could be interested in a guy like you, Sanders? She is too hot for you." said Hodges, grumpily, before returning to his work. But Greg chose to ignore him and to see with his own eyes what was happening between Warrick and Sara when Grissom gave them their cases.

Nick entered in the break-room and found Sara and Warrick talking in low voices like they were to hiding some secrets.

"Guys!" he exclaimed. They jumped, both of them startled. "Sorry," Nick said. "But usually I'm here when there's some important gossip or secrets going on."

"What do you mean Nicky?" replied Sara innocently. "We're only talking." Nick looked carefully at the two of them but seemed satisfied with the answer as he shrugged his shoulders and went off to search for some coffee. As Greg came in, Nick offered him one but Greg did not seem to hear him, instead, he looked intensely at Sara and Warrick.

"Greggo!" Nick repeated. Greg started, surprised.

"Today, I'm the King of startling you guys!" smiled Nick. "Do you want a coffee?"

"No, thanks," Greg shook his head. "I've already prepared a pot of my famous Blue Hawaiian in my lab this morning." Then he decided to test Sara, "Sara, I don't see your car in the parking lot today; is it still running alright?" he asked on purpose.

"Mmm," she nodded. "I came with Warrick. He bought me dinner before work," she lied.

"And you won't go to dinner with _me_?" exclaimed an offended Nick. "I thought I was your best friend!" Sara went to Nick and kissed his cheek, offering him her best smile.

"You will always be my best friend Nick" she reassured him. Nick grinned and gave her a hug.

Warrick, carefully watching the scene, felt something he recognized as a pang of jealousy but after a few seconds decided to ignore it.

In the next moment, Grissom entered followed by Catherine and Sara's smile erased. She turned to sit down next to Warrick as she needed the support and Warrick, without thinking of the role he should be playing, took her hand and squeezed it. His actions, though subtle, did not go entirely unnoticed, but unfortunately, it was only Greg who picked up on the small gesture.

"So, it must be true," he thought. "But I'd rather have confirmation from them."

His mind drifted as Grissom gave out the different cases; Greg with Catherine, Nick with Grissom and Sara with Warrick. Greg's eyes flitted up at the last pairing but Sara and Warrick didn't seem to notice.

"Good idea," Sara whispered to Warrick who raised his eyebrows in the now-empty room. She nodded to his hand, still entwined with hers. "Reaching for my hand – it was a good idea, but it wasn't big enough. Nobody saw it."

"Oh." Warrick uttered, realizing and nodded obligingly. He wondered why everything racing through his head right now clearly didn't mirror hers. Sara seemed only focused on the task at hand but even she couldn't imagine that, on their return, the gossip would be on everybody's lips.

Even their colleagues would all hear it soon. Catherine, by the time she came back with Greg, had heard all the whispers, and as she didn't like gossip, decided to ignore them until she heard Grissom's name.

"So, I thought she had a crush on Grissom…the rumors said they met at the university, maybe she thought she felt something which wasn't there."

"Maybe Sara always thought that, with her, he would be more extroverted, but he wasn't."

"Yes, but Warrick and her? I can imagine her better with Nick, or even with Dave Phillips, or even Greg!"

Catherine opened her eyes wide and held back from striking Greg who didn't look at all surprised by the rumor, only happy to know some people can imagine him with Sara.

"You know what this is about, Greg?" she asked him, incredulous.

"A lab-tech saw them arriving together at the lab, and another one saw them kissing," said Greg, then he added, piqued, "I would never have imagined them together"

Catherine shook her head in disbelief and went to Gil's office, hoping he would come back soon with Nick so she could ask him what he thought. When she passed Nick, laughing, she was glad to know he was already back.

"Nick, what is so funny?" she asked in passing.

"Catherine, have you heard the latest gossip?" he remarked with a grin. "Warrick and Sara are apparently together; these lab-techs really have some imagination. Just because they had dinner together…"

"You didn't listen the whole story, Nick," said the receptionist, over-hearing. "Another one saw them kissing…and not any ordinary kiss."

"Yes, we get it!" exclaimed Catherine, annoyed that there might be less work because of a rumor. "I'm going to talk to Gil."

"They'll never admit to it if it's true," said Nick cunningly. "I should invite them to a breakfast, to test their reactions and their behavior" He nodded to Catherine and Greg.

"I'll invite you too."

Catherine sighed at Nick's puerile behavior but began to think that maybe he was right, they should test them. She only shrugged her shoulders and said nothing as she disappeared to find Grissom; while Greg knew Nick was right, surprised that he had the idea before him.

"Now we should know if it's true or not," he thought.

_TO BE CONTINUE...next **Saturday** or **Sunday** :)_


	5. Chapter 5 Joyce

**"The Underdog" **

_Couples: Sara/Warrick and a little bit of Grissom/Catherine_

Rating: It depends on your part. But now K 

_Summary: Sara and Warrick discover Catherine and Grissom are together but, in trying to make them jealous, they slowly fall in love. Set after Season 5 with the team back together again._

Little note So here, the whole set up by Joyce ( the wonderful author of The Consequences of Flirting and some other Swarrick fictions ! )

**Chapter 5 : Joyce**

Warrick was walking down the hallway in peace, ready to pick up his DNA results. A smile on his face when he remembered the kiss he and Sara had shared. He was beginning to like this little stunt they were pulling. He was startled by Greg coming up behind him, pushing him in a corner.

"Rick, my man. Just the guy I needed to see."

Warrick raised his eyes suspiciously.  
"What do you want, Sanders?"

He younger man smiled, a innocent expression on his face.  
"I decided that I don't see you enough. And I just missed my buddy."

He paused, seeing the skeptical expression on Warrick's face.  
"We are buddies, right?" he asked the taller man.

Warrick shrugged.  
"I guess," he said.

He wanted to continue but he was interrupted by Greg who was nodding excitedly.  
"Right! And that's why we need to have breakfast, just you and me. It will  
be fun! So, what do you say?. You and me, after shift?"

"Eh," Warrick said. "Sure man, if you want to. Are you ok?"

Greg grinned, already walking away.  
"I couldn't be more ok. See you in a couple hours."

He left Warrick standing in the corner, looking more then a little confused.

In a other part of the lab Sara was walking along absentmindedly, wondering why she still felt Warrick's lips on hers. She was surprised to see Nick appearing before her, a big smile on his face.  
"Sara, just the girl I needed to see."

"What's up, Nicky?"

He walked beside her, laying a friendly arm around her shoulders.  
"Nothing, I just realized I don't get to see you nearly enough. Wanna have breakfast with me after shift?"

She nodded.  
"Sure, I'd like that."

He had an overly enjoyed expression on his face and she briefly wondered why  
but he was already gone.  
"Looking forward to it. See you, Sara."

He left her there, running into Greg on his way back to the DNA-lab.  
"Mission accomplished?" he asked him.

Greg had an evil smile on his face.  
"Mission accomplished," he said, slapping Nick's raised hand. The two men continued their separate ways trough the lab, both with a big grin on their face.

Meanwhile Catherine stormed into Grissom's office.  
"Have you heard the rumors yet?" she asked her boyfriend.

He looked up from the bug he was studying, a horrified look on his face.  
"Cath, you know I don't listen to rumors."

She barely heard him, continuing on.  
"They're saying that Sara and Warrick are having an affair. Someone saw them  
kissing!"

He shrugged, not really getting what the fuss was all about. Again, she didn't seem to pay attention to him.  
"Just so you know, you and me are having breakfast with the gang after shift. We need to know if these rumors are true."

She stormed out of the office, leaving Grissom behind.  
"Breakfast it is then," he muttered.

Once shift was over Warrick made his way to the locker room, wondering why everybody stopped talking all of a sudden every time he appeared somewhere in the lab. He ran into Sara in the locker room.  
"Look, it's my lover," he said grinning.

She barely looked up, rolling her eyes.  
"The charade is over for now, I gotta go. I have plans."

She left the locker room, hearing him yell after her.  
"Without me? But I'm your lover!"

He watched her leave then changed his clothes and also left the locker room.  
Stepping into his favorite diner a couple of minutes later. Surprised to see everyone all gathered around at a table.  
"Is this a intervention?" he asked the assembled party. "Because I haven't gambled in years."

They just chuckled and he took a seat next to Sara, who seemed happy with his decision to sit next to her. He noticed the looks his co-workers were giving each other and suddenly knew what this was all about. Why everybody stopped talking once they spotted him, the weird way Greg was behaving.  
Griss may not have saw them kissing but somebody sure as hell did.  
"So," he said, "This is rare, everybody here at the same time."

They all avoided his eyes, talking at once.  
"Me and Sara just wanted to have lunch," Nick said.

"Me and Grissom come here all the time, really."

"I just missed you, buddy!" Greg said. Nodding hard to emphasize his point.

Warrick glanced at Sara, seeing her smile and he knew that they were both on the same page.  
"Isn't that a coincidence," he said. An amused sparkle in his eyes.

They just nodded and quickly looked at their menu's, all but Grissom who was seriously wondering what he was doing here. A couple of minutes of silence followed in which nobody said a word until Greg spoke up.  
"Screw it!" he said. "I need to know, are you two getting all biblical with each other?"

They all looked at the lab tech in shock, with the exception of Warrick and Sara who had trouble keeping straight faces at this point.  
"No Greg," Sara said. "We're not doing each other."

Warrick stepped in, wrapping his arm around her and he noticed her cuddling up against him.  
"We just recently discovered these feelings we have for each other. It's all kinda new and we're not at that point yet. Right, Sidle?"

She was smiling at him, leaning up to place a short kiss on his lips.  
"Right," she said.

"So," Greg asked again. "You two are an item now?"

Warrick just nodded, looking at Sara.  
"I guess we are," he said. Wondering why he didn't feel like he was lying when he looked at her.

Greg raised his hands up in despair.  
"Great, just great! With everybody pairing off that just leaves me and Nick."

Nick quickly spoke up.  
"Don't even go there, Sanders. Not in this lifetime."

"Fine," Greg mumbled. "But you have no idea what you're missing."

Nick looked appalled, Catherine was looking at Warrick and Sara in shock and  
Grissom was still wondering what the hell he was doing here.

"Ok," Warrick said, standing up and pulling Sara with him. "This interest in my personal life has been fun, but me and Sidle are gonna go now."

"Yeah," she said, sliding her arm around his waist. "We need some alone time."

They said their goodbye's and left the group behind, laughing once they got outside.  
"Do you think they bought it?" Warrick asked her.

Sara nodded, grinning.  
"You know, I think they did."

He impulsively leaned down and kissed her. When he pulled back she had a confused expression on her face.  
"Warrick," she said. "They can't see us here."

He got into his car and she stepped in too.  
"I know," he said.

She was even more confused.  
"You knew?"

He just winked at her, before driving of.  
"This is going to be interesting, Sidle," he said.

Looking back at the diner one last time Sara glanced at Warrick. Wondering what she had gotten herself into.

_TO BE CONTINUE...next Sunday !_


	6. Chapter 6 Lemonjelly

**"The Underdog" **

_Couples: Sara/Warrick and a little bit of Grissom/Catherine_

Rating: It depends on your part. But now K 

_Summary: Sara and Warrick discover Catherine and Grissom are together but, in trying to make them jealous, they __slowly fall in love. Set after Season 5 with the team back together again._

This Chapter is from **Lemonjelly** : If you love angst, drama and love, you will trully enjoy her long WarrickSara story called "Wake The Hope": A must for all the WarrickSara lovers !

This chapter is the best romantic chapter of all the story, so if you love fluff, enjoy it !

**Chapter Six **

Sara stared out of the window of the moving Tahoe without saying a word for a full ten minutes, thinking about everything that's been happening and trying to get her head around this - trying to get her life in order as the world rushed past her window. It wasn't until the car slowed and stopped outside a white-washed marina that she turned to Warrick with a questioning look.

"Boats?" she asked with raised eyebrows. She glanced out across the lake, barely lit in the pre-dawn sky - the small wooden pier tethering a handful of gently bobbing rowing boats lit by a modest string of bare bulbs. A far cry from the touristy, glaring Strip. "It's not even light out!"

Warrick shrugged his shoulders and grinned. "Is it illegal in the state of Nevada to go rowing at night?"

"Will it even be open?" she said, staring doubtfully at the waterside cabin.

"I talked it over with the guy who owns the place." he told her, unbuckling his seat belt.

"He owed me a favour from a while back anyway."

Sara paused before asking one last question in the quiet of the car. "Is this a date?"

He faltered for a moment, not looking at her but out through the windscreen at the calmly drifting row boats. "If we're gonna say we're a couple, we'd better have a go at acting like one, don't you think?" he responded eventually, turning back to her with an overly wide grin. "So, yes, I'm taking you on the most clichéd first date you've ever been on." She looked at him carefully and then smiled, nodding.

"Good plan." she said - but quietly, almost uncertainly as she got down from the car.

Sara wandered out from where he'd parked the car towards the beech planks of the pier, her black autumn boots crunching the gravel as she walked in silence. Warrick locked up the Tahoe and looked up to see her walking slowly down the pier, a silhouette of her backed against the distant glow that overhung The Strip. She moved to the cabin and cupped her hands around her eyes, peering into the darkened room.

"It looks closed to me, 'Rick." she called back. "I think you've got the wrong end of the deal, here."

He chuckled - the sound dispersed freely into the flatlands and waterfronts around - and touched her shoulder lightly in passing. Sara looked after him, watching him stroll down the pier, noticing a shiver run through her from that point on her shoulder where his fingers had been just moments before, for a beat of a second.

"He told me he'd set everything up for me," he informed her, peering into each boat as he passed and squinting through the semi-dark. "Which basically meant oars and drinks. Didn't want to get up at 4am just for us."

"Fair enough," Sara commented vaguely, following him down.

"Works for me." Warrick said, jumping down into a white and blue rowing boat tethered to the end post. "I kind of like working nights. Even though it wreaks havoc with my social life."

"At least you have one, right?" Sara answered, accepting his hand that reached out to steady her step into the swaying boat.

"No, that's the problem." he grinned.

Sara smiled and then shrugged her shoulders as she stood on the dipping boat and looked out across the lake which moved slowly, serenely, in gentle sweeps like breaths of a sleeping earth. "I don't know," she began softly, not needing to raise her voice much higher with standing right beside her and not wanting to, either, in case she interrupted the silence around them. "I like it too. By the time I finish, everyone's still in bed or getting up. Everything's shut, roads are empty and no-one else is around. Sort of like my own world, just for a while." She turned to him and added, "Although now you're here, that sort of ruins it."

Warrick laughed and she poked her tongue out at him.

"Charming," he replied. "Share it with you?"

"Huh?"

"The world," he clarified. "I'll share it with you."

A grin broke onto her face. "Okay - deal." Sara nodded and she took a seat on the wooden beams in the boat. "So - oars and drinks, right?"

"Yep." Warrick said and reached down into the bottom of the boat, grasping two poles in the darkness and bringing them up. "Well, here are the oars."

"Ever rowed before?" she asked him, the thought suddenly occurring to her.

Warrick paused for a moment as though that thought had only just occurred to him too. "No - I guess I'm much more of a city boy," he admitted and then gave her an optimistic smirk. "How hard can it be, right?"

"Where's my life jacket?" Sara remarked playfully and he rolled his eyes.

"You just keep rooting around for those promised drinks," Warrick told her. Sara responded with a light-hearted chuckle and he sliced the oars into the crisp water's surface, gliding them out towards the centre of the lake as she felt around the bottom of the boat.

"Caught anything yet?" he teased, watching her with her face close to his knee-level, feeling blindly around.

"Aha - yes." she answered triumphantly and, with a whoop that echoed through the clear open air around, she held up her hand which was clasped around a can. She held the drink close to read its label in the pallid dawn light.

"Soda," she read and looked at Warrick distastefully. "This wasn't exactly what I had in mind, War."

"No, me neither," he muttered. "I think I need to have a word with this friend. I don't think he takes out many girls."

Sara handed him the soda and pulled out another one that rolled past her feet as Warrick took the boat further out in a sweeping motion. "And you do?" she queried casually.

"Not as many as I would've once hoped," he replied, picking his words with deliberation.

"Why 'once'?" Sara leant towards him, interested in his choice. Warrick looked at her and saw it was a genuine question rather than test. He leant the oars down on the edges of the boat, allowing himself free hands to open his can of cola.

"I guess I'm getting old," Warrick answered with a cheeky grin, knowing he was avoiding a direct answer as he said it. "Too old for the rock and roll lifestyle of drink and women the whole time."

"Then perhaps it's a good thing we've only got soda," Sara mused. "Otherwise you might be way in over your head here."

They drifted along the mirror-perfect surface of the lake for a while in silence and watched sunlight start to peek over distant suburban edges until he turned back to her, considering her face for a while in the yellow autumn early morning light before speaking.

"So how is your most clichéd date working out for you?" Warrick probed with a smile.

Sara turned the soda can over in her hand and looked around the empty lake for a moment. "It's not actually as clichéd as you say it is, you know."

"Really?" he raised an eyebrow. "Well this should swing it." He cleared his throat ceremoniously and set down his soda can.

"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" he began dramatically. "Thou art more lovely and more temperate -"

He cut himself off momentarily when he noticed her giggling at him behind her shirt cuff.

"What?" he protested with a smile. "It's Shakespeare - I learnt it especially."

Sara shook her head and tried to put on a straight face. "I'm sorry; it's very nice - do go on."

"Rough winds do shake..." he went on, flinging his arms out in an over-the-top gesture but, in doing so, knocked both precariously balanced oars off the edges of the boat to disappear beneath the surface of the lake, ripples spreading evenly out where they once had been.

"Oh crap." Warrick muttered, leaning over each edge. Sara burst out laughing and watched in amusement as he rolled up his sleeves hurriedly and plunged both arms into the cold waters to try and grasp the sinking oars.

"I hate to disappoint," Sara began. "But I've never been on a first date quite like this."

He sat up, having recovered the oars but at the same time drenched his sleeves up to the shoulder. "Neither have I," he uttered before composing himself again. "Shall I carry on with the poem?"

Sara shrugged her shoulders. "If you must."

"It's Shakespeare! It's a classic!" he insisted, feigning horror at her apathy.

"You're starting to sound like Grissom!" She told him, laughing. And then she stopped. And he stopped. They floated on the lake's surface for a moment in a painful silence, the water seeping through his shirt some more.

"Do I remind you of Ca -?" Sara began, almost dreading the answer.

"No." he cut her off immediately. "No. You're...I don't know..."

More silence. Warrick scooped the oars lightly over the water's surface for want of something to break the deafening quiet. In the water, he noticed, the glowing light from the sun creeping up over the horizon.

"That's what I took you out to see," he murmured quietly and Sara, who'd been awkwardly studying the can of cola in her hands, looked up to see the sun rise over the waterfront and a smile spread across her face.

Warrick looked at her, watching her in the growing light: just two in a boat at dawn, drifted out in the middle of the Nevadan lake while all the world slept on - as though it belonged to them, just them, and just for a while. But when she turned back to him, the smile vanished.

"Are you alright?" he asked gently.

Sara frowned. "I'm confused," she replied eventually. "I'm confused and it scares me."

He paused and took a breath. "So you feel it too?"

She seemed to freeze up for a second and gripped her drinks can tighter. "I think we should head back to shore." she said softly, staring hard into the bottom of the boat and avoiding his eyes. He didn't say anything in reply but took up the oars and wordlessly rowed the little boat back towards the harbour.

TO BE CONTINUE...**Next Sunday !**


	7. Chapter 7 Megara1

**"The Underdog" **

_Couples: Sara/Warrick and a little bit of Grissom/Catherine_

Rating: It depends on your part. But now K 

_Summary: Sara and Warrick discover Catherine and Grissom are together but, in trying to make them jealous, they slowly fall in love. Set after Season 5 with the team back together again._

**Chapter Seven ( Megara )**

The next day, at the CSI lab, for the first time since the beginning of Warrick's and her masquerade, Sara felt uneasiness at Nick's questions.

"So, Sara, how was your little date with Warrick?" he asked, suggestively wiggling his eyebrows.

"How did you know about that?" she replied surprised.

"I know how Warrick can be romantic when he wants to, so I can imagine…" Nick smirked.

"We went for a boat ride on the lake…it was very romantic," answered Sara with a fake smile. She came to remember the end of their conversation, which froze the whole evening and now, surprising herself, her heart.

Luckily for her, Greg came and greeted them.

"So Nick," Greg began mischievously. "Do you have some news on Sara and Warrick's date ?"

"Why? Would you like some ideas for your girlfriend?" asked Nick teasing Greg.

Greg reddened and Nick laughed but Sara, at that moment, was lost in remembering the conversation on the lake with Warrick. When Warrick entered with Catherine, talking animatedly with her, Sara felt what she had once felt a long time ago when she saw Grissom with Terri Miller or thought of him with Lady Heather: a very powerful jealousy that she attempted to erase with great difficulty. But Warrick caught her eye and sent her a small smile before he went to grab some coffee.

Just then, Grissom came and began handing out their assignments. Sara was happy to work alone, she didn't want to be with Warrick and really didn't want to be with Catherine or even Nick who could see clearly that she wasn't happy when she volunteered herself for a dull solo case; Warrick was with Nick and Catherine with Greg.

All were leaving when Warrick caught hold of Sara's wrist to stop her.

"Could we please have time alone when your case is closed?" he asked quietly.

"I don't know, honey," Sara replied. "I'll try but we'll see each other quite soon anyway."

Warrick raised his eyebrows at the "honey" in her sentence but then noticed all the technicians, smiled and leant over to whisper into her ear.

"It's really important, Sara."

Sara simply nodded her head and hurriedly left. As she walked briskly down the hall, she felt shivers run across her skin and wondered to herself, "Why did he have that effect on me?"

A few hours later, Sara was taking her clothes from her locker when she felt another long shiver running through her veins as Warrick entered and she asked herself again why Warrick had the same effect to her that Grissom once had. Wait – once? Lost in her thoughts, she didn't hear him speak to her, and when he spoke again, she jumped.

"Sara, are you okay?" he leant close to her, concerned.

"Sorry, I was lost in my thoughts," she excused.

Warrick looked at her closely. "She must've been thinking about Grissom again," he realized with an aching dread sinking in his stomach. "I should stop this now or I will have my heart broken for a second time."

"Can we go dinner?" he proposed, wanting to have more time with her.

"I thought that what you wanted to say was important," said Sara.

"It is," Warrick replied. "But I'm hungry; aren't you?"

"Yes, a great salad will be good." Sara nodded and smiled faintly.

"Perfect."

They left the lab together, but now undecided over wanting to play at being lovers.

-

In front of his dinner, Warrick seemed to forget what he wanted to say to Sara, wanting only to watch her. It was some minutes later before Sara spoke, feeling awkward in the heavy silence.

"Warrick, I know what you are going to say…" Sara began tentatively. "Grissom and Catherine only reacted a little when they found out about us; perhaps they felt something but didn't want to analyze it." she suggested.

"No Sara, Catherine was only surprised," Warrick told her. "Grissom, I believe, felt nothing."

But Sara shook her head, not wanting to hear the harsh truth.

"So…do you have a new plan?" Sara changed the subject swiftly.

"We already did everything Sara," Warrick deadpanned. "I'd rather we stopped now. I know, I promised you but you – you promised to let it go if it didn't turn out as we wanted."

"So, you're choosing to abandon me?" asked Sara, with tears in her eyes.

"I'd rather not be hurt a second time," answered Warrick quietly, paying and standing up.

"Hurt..?" Sara murmured, frowning. "Hurt by Catherine?"

"No," he said. "By you."

Warrick left and Sara sat there, feeling confused and hurt – so bad that she said to herself that maybe it had always been a very bad idea. She'd only wanted to know if the hurt she'd got in return from so many years of chasing Gil Grissom was worth it but now she'd gone and lost Warrick – and it was that, she discovered with some surprise, that hurt more.

She decided to go back home and think very hard about what she should do now.

_To be continue...next **Sunday !**_


	8. Chapter 8 Joyce

**"The Underdog" **

_Couples: Sara/Warrick and a little bit of Grissom/Catherine_

Rating: It depends on your part. But now K 

_Summary: Sara and Warrick discover Catherine and Grissom are together but, in trying to make them jealous, they slowly fall in love. Set after Season 5 with the team back together again._

**Chap 8 ( Joyce )**

Sara stood in front of her apartment, her conversation with Warrick still on her mind. It had surprised her that he had been so open about his feelings, laying it all out for the world to see. He had taken a chance and showed her how he felt and suddenly that thought infuriated her. How could he do that to her after all she had been through? She had just lost Grissom to Catherine and was struggling to overcome that fact and she didn't need new complications in her life. Sara acted on impulse, turned around and quickly drove off. She found herself standing in front of his house half an hour later. She started pounding on his door and a couple of seconds later he was leaning in the door frame, clearly curious to see who was making all the noise at this hour in the day. He didn't have the time to reflect on it long because she shoved him aside and stormed into his house, yelling.

"How could you do that me?" she demanded to know, getting even more upset by the way he was watching her, with a mixture of amusement and genuine surprise.

She went on, needing to let it all out.  
"I'm not ready for this, for you and me and the idea of an us. I'm not ready, do you get that!"

She stopped to catch her breath, fully prepared to scream some more when he walked over to her and placed his hand on her mouth, effectively silencing her.  
"I get that," he said to her. "You just told me. Twice."

She made some weird squeaking sounds behind the palm of his hand and he laughed, removing his hand because he wanted to hear what she had to say.  
"Stop being so damn understanding!" she screamed, clearly frustrated.

"That's me," Warrick said, smirking a little. "I'm mister understanding."

"Well, stop it," Sara told him, her voice back to a normal level but he could still hear the confusion behind it.

"Why are you so mad, Sara?" he asked her and she avoided his eyes. Something that amused him even more, he was getting to her even if she wasn't willing to admit it. It was the reason she was so mad. He didn't say anything though and waited patiently for her to reach the same conclusion.

"I'm not mad," she mumbled, looking at the piano that was standing in his living room and she realized yet again how much she didn't know about him.

"Oh, really?" Warrick questioned. "So you storming in here and yelling at me is an indication that you're what? A happy camper?"

That got a little smile out of her and she turned to look at him, the fury gone.  
"Why did you say that I could hurt you?"

"Because you can, Sidle," Warrick answered simply.

There was something in his eyes when he spoke and she looked away again, afraid of the intensity of the feelings she saw in them. She was afraid of everything really; of him and his confident way of letting her know that there was something between them, of the fact that she hadn't thought much about Grissom lately but mostly she was scared to death by the feelings she felt whenever she was around him. He made her feel angry and happy at the same time but most of all her made her feel alive and she had no idea how to fix that.

"How?" she whispered. "How could I ever hurt you?"

He sighed and she saw a small crack in his easy going attitude, a first sign that maybe he was just as scared as she was.  
"This charade we set up felt way to real to me. I wanted to get out before we were in way over our heads. But we already are, Sidle."

His admission shocked her, he could see that.  
"Are you starting to have feelings for me?" she asked him and when he shook his head she didn't know if she felt relieved or sad.

"I already have feelings for you, Sara," he told her honestly. "And not in the friendly kind of way."

She sat down on his couch, silent, and he took a seat next to her.  
"I didn't plan this, Sar." She gave no indication that she heard him and he slowly reached out to grab her hand, seeing her shudder once he touched her.  
"I'm sorry," he said to her, not knowing what else to do.

She looked at him then, repeating her earlier words.  
"I'm not ready for this."

There was no anger in her voice this time, she just sounded scared and confused and he sighed. Acting on impulse he pulled her towards him, feeling her struggling against him.  
"Hey," he said to her. "I'm not trying anything here, I just wanted to comfort you. You looked like you needed it."

Sara smiled at him and she relaxed somewhat, letting him hold her.  
"I'm sorry," he felt her whisper against his chest. "I know you would never do anything to hurt me."

He just shook his head, content to hold her for now and he felt the tension slowly draining from her body until she was just letting him hold her while listening to his heartbeat.

"You feel it too, Sara. I know you do," he finally said to her and he wondered where he found the courage to tell her that especially when she leaped up from the couch and out of his arms. She started to pace the room, the fury back and stronger then ever.

"I do not feel it!" she yelled and he could see her inner struggle, could almost hear her trying to convince herself.

"Then why are you so mad?" he asked her again.

She stopped and looked at him, answering his question with one of her own.  
"Why can't you just leave me alone?"

He raised both his eyebrows.  
"You're in my home, Sidle. You came to me," he clarified for her. "I'm not trying to force myself into to your life. I'm just telling you that I have feelings for you but if you tell me that you don't feel the same then I'll back off."

Again there was silence, she just stood there with big eyes and he slowly approached her.  
"You can't tell me that, can you?"

She started crying.  
"I hate you, you know that," she said to him and he almost believed her if it hadn't been for the fact hat her entire being was telling him something else.

He wrapped both his arms around her, shaking his head.  
"Who you kidding?" he joked, remembering a time when he had told Nick the same thing. "You love me," he finished and his heart was pounding loudly in his ears, afraid that he had gone to far.

She didn't move out of his arms but looked up at him and he took a chance.  
His lips slowly approaching hers but she still didn't move out of his arms and then he was kissing her. Not for the world to see or to make Catherine and Grissom jealous. He kissed her because it felt right to him, he only hoped she felt the same.

Tbc...

So guys, just one chapter and it's the end !

So, see you next week end ! And don't forget to review !


	9. Chapter 9 Lemonjelly

**"The Underdog" **

_Couples: Sara/Warrick and a little bit of Grissom/Catherine_

Rating: It depends on your part. But now K 

_Summary: Sara and Warrick discover Catherine and Grissom are together but, in trying to make them jealous, they slowly fall in love. Set after Season 5 with the team back together again._

**The Underdog. Chapter Nine ( Lemonjelly )**

There was a painting in Warrick Brown's living room that Sara had never noticed before. An Edward Hopper print framed against the cream walls. It hung beside the bookcase and fell into her line of sight when she opened her eyes and found herself staring over his shoulder.

"Sara..?"

It was curious, she thought, that he had that painting. In the weekend when she decided to let Grissom go, when he'd told her to get a life – and she'd tried, she'd come across another print of that painting in the hotel she'd stayed at. And she couldn't take her eyes away from it: a late evening scene of a man and his wife in their own living room. He sat at their walnut table, reading his newspaper with cold indifference as his wife, all dressed up, sat at the piano at the other edge of the painting – one tentative finger on a key.

Something in it had stuck Sara then just as it struck her now; the quiet desperation for attention in the woman's red dress, begging to be loved, and the oblivious male, not knowing how hard she tried. She'd identified far too much with the woman's shadowed face – so hidden, it might have been her. And she'd recognised their aching silence, a thousand-mile silence, as her own. And it had hurt then, just as much as it hurt now.

Strange, though, that Warrick should have that painting, of all things. Perhaps, she wondered, perhaps he really did know how she felt. She was reminded of Warrick once again as his lips touched her neck briefly and she felt his arms around her waist again.

"You won't look at me." he noted, his own hurt tangible in his voice.

Sara knew. She couldn't look at him.

Warrick's arms dropped heavily down to his sides and he stepped back from her. Sara's eyes didn't flicker his way, but looked down at the floor – her face shadowed and her eyes stinging.

"You won't look at me." he repeated again, in a pained disbelief. And he had been so sure of what they had. "Then maybe you should go. You were right and I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry," she told him. "I'm so sorry, Warrick. I just don't know what I feel."

"It's okay," he cut her off quickly – though it wasn't. "It's really okay." He didn't want to hear her try and explain herself; after all, he thinks, there were only so many times you could take getting hurt – watching Sara turn away. "Listen," he said firmly. "Listen, just forget about what happened today. Go home and forget you ever came here. Forget these past few crazy weeks and everything I did. Forget this whole stupid plan, even."

Sara nodded dumbly, still staring at her feet. To forget – that would be easier said than done. Still, she turned away and headed for the front door.

"It just got out of control, that's all," she murmured, finding her voice as her hand found the door handle. "That's all it was."

"Yes." Warrick agreed, without feeling it. "That was all."

He ventured a glance over towards his front door despite himself. He didn't want to watch her leave, most of all, he didn't want to see that. But she didn't go out. Sara hesitated in the doorway, hand on the doorknob and watching her immobile feet.

"The thing is, though," she began tentatively. "The thing is is that this whole Grissom thing – Grissom and Catherine – it hurt. It really did. And I know that you felt it too or you'd never have gone along with that insane plan."

"I know." Warrick told her. "I did." He paused and then followed her to where she stood, still in the doorway.

"And everybody knows – falling in love with your co-workers is never a viable plan. Christ, we – of all people – should know that better than anyone." she gave a short and bitter laugh. "It's just that – I felt so sure that we could've beaten those odds."

"Who? Grissom and you?" Warrick asked her.

"Yes. And I was wrong," she said. "I just don't know...I don't know if I want to do the same thing all over again."

"With me." Warrick uttered finally. He hadn't wanted to hear it.

"With you." And Sara chanced looking at him – for the first time since she'd fixed her eyes on the damn painting.

And she saw that he'd meant it – every word of what he'd said. And he understood her, too. And hurt just as she did, with the same eyes that burned with every broken heart yet still hoped for more.

But this was what she'd hoped for – this was more.

"So I guess you'd better leave then," he relented. Just let her go; it'll be easier for the both of you.

"I can't." she answered shortly. "No – I don't want to leave this and forget."

Warrick blinked a couple of times and then moved a sheepish hand to rub the back of his neck.

"Jesus Christ, Sara," he muttered. "Make up your mind."

A brief smile flickered onto her face.

"Just one last moment of indecisiveness, please." she returned and leant into him, pressing her lips back to his again. And he thought, pulling her in tighter, he reckoned he could allow one last moment, just this once.

-

The next time Sara woke up was to the intrusive ringing over her cell phone. She grabbed it quickly and flipped it open, rubbing her eyes awake as she held it to her ear.

"Hello?" her voice croaked.

"Hi Sara – sorry did I wake you up?" Grissom started up briskly. "I tried your house phone but got the machine."

"I – uh – just missed it, I guess," Sara found herself telling him.

"Oh," Grissom said. "Well, there's been a triple homicide in Henderson and I need to get the whole team on this one."

Sara frowns to herself, wondering when her heart had stopped leaping up at the sound of his voice. "Okay," she answered calmly and sat up in bed. "Okay, that's fine."

"Thanks," he said. "Now I've just gotta get Greg and Warrick down."

"Uh – you call Greg; I'll tell Warrick to, y'know, save time." Sara told him.

"Good idea," Grissom's voice came down the receiver. "See you later."

Sara can't even remember if she'd said goodbye, it was so early – she just flipped the cell phone shut again and tried again to rub her face awake. A month ago, maybe – maybe two, she would've made sure she'd said goodbye. It was funny really, how these things turn out.

"Warrick...?"

She turned to him now and whispered his name as she lay across the mattress, resting on her elbows. "Warrick – gotta get up..." She kissed his bare shoulder and looked at him, waiting for a response.

And she'd been wrong, she realised. She'd been wrong in thinking that falling in love would bring the same feelings, the same consequences. It would be them, now, stealing private moments and covering for themselves, lying on the phone. This wasn't a public performance anymore – it stopped being that some time ago, descending instead into small steps and secrecy. Just two people trying to beat the odds together. That was all.

And I hate to write that, but it's **THE END **!

_Thanks for all your reviews guys, it's so good to read them from old great SaraWarrick writters or new fans of that pairing._

_And if you want to write a new story with me, please send me an e mail : I need 1, or 2 persons...Megara1_


End file.
